About us

Monique Luiken

DessinDestin artist Monique Luiken loved drawing as a child and growing up kept dreaming of studying art. After working in the graphic design industry for years, she finally realised that dream by studying art at Wackers Academy in Amsterdam. She also took courses in writing and photography. At Art Academy Haarlem Monique also took printmaking and drawing courses. Besides working as an illustrator Monique is a professional artist (www.moniqueluiken.net), teaches drawing classses and she happily plays the clarinet at the BHK orchestra.www.dessindestin.com

Bob Blinkhof

Bob Blinkhof is an active and creative primary school teacher, who constantly works on improving himself and the world around him. He is an (voice) actor, radio/tv anchor, and the founding father of many projects to regional and communal outreach and development programs in Indonesia. I met him when became my co-worker at the local radio station where I was a presenter and editor, we became close friends and he was more than willing to volunteer to participate in the audio productions that will coincide the Kronieken van Oz project.www.copindonesie.nl

Jeroen van Luiken-Bakker

Jeroen Bakker (born 1981), is (in short) a journalist, writer, poet and composer. Jeroen was diagnosed with dyslexia in 2001 and with Autism (Asperger’s syndrome) in 2008. He is a kind and humble supporter of the Frysian translation of the works of JRR Tolkien and had (at least so he says) a small hand in realising the Frysian Hobbit by Anne Tjerk Popkema. Jeroen’s prior publications include his debut volume of poetry (Verloren uurtjes) containing a variety of poems, a short story he wrote and artwork by Jasper Kloosterboer, an American publisher has expressed interest in the book so there might be a translation available in the near future. Jeroen initiated a book on Autism for which he motivated 27 so called Autithors to collaborate with him and build a bridge between people with and without Autism. He also translated the German poem ‘Lenore fuhr ums Morgenrot’ by Gottfried August Bürger into Dutch with the intent to write a bi-lingual opera based on the poem. Jeroen let (temporarily) go of most of his other activities in order to focus on ‘de Kronieken van Oz’ project and work on his L(yman) Frank Baum translations. Jeroen wishes to express here his gratitude to Monique Luiken and his friends and family for making this project possible and he wishes to express his sincere appreciation to them; including but not limited to mom and dad, Bob Blinkhof, Huub Duin and Robin Zwart. www.jeroenbakker.webs.com

Ahvô Braiths

Ahvô Braiths is a very young publisher who dares take upon itself such a comprehensive project as this one.

Ahvô Braiths, is ancient Gothic for ‘water broad’. Ahvô over time devolloped into the Dutch ‘ai’ and later ‘IJ’, stil meaning water. Braiths became ‘monding’ (broad) in modern Dutch. These words combined mean water broad, or ‘IJmond’, which is the name of a region in the Dutch province of North-Holland. Ahvô Braiths has taken it upon themselves to aid writers and other
creative minds within (and outside off) the IJmond to publish their works.www.ahvobraiths.nl (English)